The courtroom identification of a man whom the witness referred to as “the teacher” sparked reactions from the defendants during Monday’s hearing against five Serbs accused of war crimes against the civilian population in the Gjilan region.
During the hearing, the witness pointed at one of the defendants, identifying him as a person involved in the events about which he was testifying. The moment was accompanied by tension and reactions from the accused.
When the prosecutor asked who “the teacher” was, the witness pointed towards him and replied:
“There, right there in the courtroom, sitting down.”
During questioning about the village of Pogragjë, the witness asked that the question be directed to the person he had just identified.
“Ask the teacher where Pogragjë is. There he is, right there. Don’t ask me,” he said.
In another part of his testimony, the witness referred to a person wearing a red headscarf, whom he described as the most dangerous. He claimed that he had also seen this individual wearing a Kosovo Police uniform in Gjilan.
“The most dangerous one was wearing a red headscarf. I saw him wearing a Kosovo Police uniform in Gjilan,” the witness said.
During questioning by the defence, the witness at one point responded: “How would I know who killed them?”
Dragan Cvetković, who is under house arrest due to his serious health condition, also appeared in court alongside the four other defendants.
On December 27, 2024, the Special Prosecution Office filed indictment PPS No. 93/2024 against Dragan Cvetković, Dragan Ničić, Miloš Šošić, Nenad Stojanović and Slobodan Jevtić for war crimes against the civilian population. The case is being handled by the Special Department of the Basic Court in Pristina.
According to the summary of the indictment included in a report by the Humanitarian Law Center Kosovo, the defendants are accused of committing, jointly with other members of Serbian forces, killings, injuries, torture, looting and the expulsion of Albanian civilians during the 1999 war in the villages of Inatoc, Llovcë, Pogragjë and Uglar in the municipality of Gjilan.
Among those listed as injured in the indictment is Marigona Azemi, who was approximately two years old at the time. Šošić and Stojanović are also charged with illegal possession of weapons, while the prosecution has proposed hearing 19 witnesses.
